


you wanna be friends forever (i can think of something better)

by GallifreyanFairytale



Series: lead me to the garden (winter atla femslash week 2021 fics) [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: ATLA Winter Femslash Week 2021, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Yue (Avatar), Bisexual Katara (Avatar), F/F, Hair Braiding, Jealousy, Light Angst, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oblivious Katara (Avatar), Pining, Rom-Com vibes, background sokka/zuko - Freeform, tfw you and your brother (supposedly) like the same girl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:22:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29184720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GallifreyanFairytale/pseuds/GallifreyanFairytale
Summary: As a general rule, Katara is not jealous of Sokka.Of course, rules tend to go out the window when Katara finds herself face-to-face with a girl pretty enough to take her breath away. And, of course, for some spirits-forsaken reason, Katara has the same taste in girls as her brother does.So while, as a rule, Katara forbids herself from being jealous of Sokka, she also isn’t exactly in a position where she can avoid sitting at the table and glaring daggers at her brother as he and Yue laugh over something one of their teachers did today. She won’t call the feeling brewing in her stomach jealousy, but… she also doesn’t exactly have any other word to describe it.OR: katara pines for the girl she thinks her brother has a crush on and finds out maybe she's not as perceptive as she thought
Relationships: Katara/Yue (Avatar)
Series: lead me to the garden (winter atla femslash week 2021 fics) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137752
Comments: 21
Kudos: 79
Collections: Winter ATLA Femslash Week 2021





	you wanna be friends forever (i can think of something better)

**Author's Note:**

> four day three of winter atla femslash week: hair braiding & pining  
> (i ended up combining them bc that's just how the fic went jsfgdkjkf)
> 
> [tags this with 'rom-com vibes' like i haven't seen approximately three rom-coms in my entire life]
> 
> title from sleepover by hayley kiyoko

As a general rule, Katara is not jealous of Sokka.

Of course, rules tend to go out the window when Katara finds herself face-to-face with a girl pretty enough to take her breath away. And, of course, for some spirits-forsaken reason, Katara has the same taste in girls as her brother does.

(She curses fate for _that_ misfortune every day.)

So while, as a rule, Katara forbids herself from being jealous of Sokka, she also isn’t exactly in a position where she can avoid sitting at the table and glaring daggers at her brother as he and Yue laugh over something one of their teachers did today. She won’t _call_ the feeling brewing in her stomach jealousy, but… she also doesn’t exactly have any other word to describe it.

Yue is a senior like Sokka, one grade ahead of Katara, and she’s also a perfect compliment to Sokka’s mathematical genius with her proficiency in the arts. (And once again, _no_ , Katara is _not_ jealous of Sokka’s intellect. She’d rather not be grouped in with The Nerds™, thank you very much. She is perfectly fine being called a jock for being on the swim team instead.)

But basically, it isn’t like Katara even stands half a chance with Yue. Yue is far too smart, far too beautiful, far too _perfect_ , to even spare a glance at Katara. Katara knows this. Katara knows that out of the two of them, Sokka’s chances with Yue are astronomically higher than hers. Somehow, for reasons Katara can’t begin to comprehend, Sokka has most of the girls and half the guys at their school falling at his feet like he’s some sort of supermodel.

Katara thinks people need to stop being so infatuated with class clowns.

Not that what Katara thinks matters. But if she _could_ , she’d lay out every reason Yue shouldn’t date Sokka and why she should date Katara instead because, as a younger sister, it’s Katara’s right to scare potential girlfriends away for any reason she likes.

(It’s not jealousy. It’s _not_.)

(Katara just thinks Yue can do way better than Sokka. And maybe that way better _could_ be her, but who’s to say for certain?)

“Katara,” Sokka says, shaking Katara from her brooding thinking, “if you’re trying to use your laser eyes to burn my calc textbook, I don’t think it’s going to work.”

“ _Sorry_ ,” Katara snaps, “I just can’t concentrate with all the _oogie_ coming from your general direction.” She slams her own textbook shut and gathers her things. “I’m going to my room, since clearly the two of you aren’t going to be doing any _actual_ work.” She does not _storm_ off - but she comes pretty close.

The only thing stopping her is when she meets Yue’s eyes and sees something that looks almost like disappointment bubbling up in them. She swallows down her irritation long enough to offer Yue an apologetic look she hopes comes across as sincere before marching off to her bedroom.

“Sorry about her,” she hears Sokka say. “She just gets in _moods_ sometimes. Little sisters, you know?” He laughs.

“I don’t know, actually,” Yue muses. “I guess I’ll take your word for it, though.”

Sokka laughs again - this time the laugh that lets Katara know he’s doing it in the hopes of winning Yue over. It’s his Flirting Laugh. It makes Katara want to puke.

\--

Sokka’s first girlfriend was named Suki, and to this day, Katara has no idea how he managed to successfully ask her out. Suki also happened to be the path to Katara realizing she is not as straight as she originally believed herself to be. And Katara had told herself, most definitely, the fact that she was attracted to the girl her brother was dating was a fluke and their types wouldn’t be at all comparable. Suki is just the type of person that _anyone_ attracted to girls finds attractive.

Then Sokka had gone on a few dates with other girls, and every time, Katara tried to convince herself they _wouldn’t_ be her type, because they were Sokka’s type.

Every time, Katara was wrong.

Then Sokka had started hanging out with Yue and Katara had to face the facts: She and her brother have the same type when it comes to girls, and only one of them has ever had any luck in the romance department. 

(Spoiler alert: It’s not Katara.)

(Katara has dated exactly two people in the past. Both were boys and both relationships lasted less than a month. The first - Haru - ended up coming out as gay a few months after he and Katara broke up. The second - Jet - had wanted to kiss Katara two weeks into their relationship and Katara had _nope_ d her way right out of there because she had been fifteen and she had not wanted to kiss anyone yet, thank you very much.)

The problem is, with every other girl Sokka has shown interest in, Katara’s interest has only gone as far as, _“Oh she’s really pretty.”_ But her feelings towards Yue surpassed that months ago, and now she’s constantly suspended between jealousy and yearning. Because everyone knows that it’s only a matter of time before Sokka officially asks Yue out and then any shred of a chance Katara might have once had will shrivel up and die.

(She says, like she ever had a chance in the first place.)

So basically, Katara needs to _get over herself_. She knows this. She’s told herself this every day since she realized that she was feeling more for Yue than just acknowledging how pretty she is.

And yet.

Katara wishes she were back in freshman year of high school, secretly admiring Suki’s arm muscles whenever she wore tank tops that would show off her biceps. 

(Which was often.)

(Like Katara said, she and Sokka have very similar types.)

At least there were no deeper feelings attached to Suki. At least Katara didn’t feel like gouging her own eyeballs out whenever Sokka so much as looked at Suki. At least with Suki, Katara didn’t lie awake, staring at her bedroom ceiling, wondering if the next morning would bring the day where pining for her brother’s friend turned into the far more embarrassing notion of pining for her brother’s girlfriend.

Tui and La. Why can’t Katara pick _literally anyone_ besides the people her brother likes?

\--

Katara and Yue are in the same painting class, which was cool at the start of the school year, but now, Katara is beginning to resent it.

Today is a work day, so the sixteen students in their class all get to spend the entire class period working on their current projects. Because they’re in a higher level painting class, they get a lot more freedom on what they get to paint. Katara is working on a snow-covered landscape, something that gives off January vibes, in Katara’s opinion. It’s her favorite type of weather.

Meanwhile, Yue is painting the Northern Lights. And Katara keeps not-so-subtly staring at Yue’s painting because _wow_. It’s almost as stunning as Yue is.

Something knocks into Katara’s arm, and she snaps her gaze away from Yue and her painting. 

“Sorry!” Zuko apologizes. “I didn’t see you.”

Zuko is…

 _Well_.

As a general rule, Katara does not like him. Because he’s friends with Sokka and because his sister is Azula. But at the same time, Katara is well aware he genuinely can’t see out of his left eye and probably actually _didn’t_ mean to bump into her.

“It’s fine. It’s not like you ruined my painting or anything. I wasn’t paying attention anyways.”

Zuko seems to relax once Katara’s made it clear she isn’t mad at him, despite the fact that her first instinct was to shoot Zuko a death glare. He smiles sheepishly. “Were you looking at Yue’s painting too?”

Katara likes to think her shock at being called out doesn’t show on her face, but she knows better than to hope for that. “Yeah. She’s… really good. At painting.”

Zuko nods in agreement, then looks down at his own piece. A look of discontent crosses his face. “She’s over there painting, like, one of the objectively prettiest things in nature and I’m just painting a pond.”

Katara leans over to examine Zuko’s painting. “Well yeah, but your pond also has turtleducks and fire lilies. I like it.”

“Thanks,” Zuko says, but Katara gets the feeling there’s something still bothering him. Maybe _he’s_ jealous of Sokka, and that’s the _real_ reason he was looking at Yue’s painting.

(No, of course Katara isn’t projecting. What would make you say that?)

“Do you… _um_ ,” Zuko’s cheeks flush and he keeps his eyes adamantly trained on the table. “Do you know if Sokka and Yue are actually dating? He hasn’t said anything, but… I kind of get the feeling they are.”

Katara scowls. “If they _are_ , I haven’t heard.” She wants to say, _“They better not be,”_ but she also doesn’t want to have to explain why she thinks that. And certainly not to Zuko. Who she doesn’t like and is not friends with. “He probably knows she’ll reject him because she’s too good for him.”

“Right.” Zuko obviously doesn’t believe Katara. Not that Katara can really blame him - she’s not sure she believes herself. She _wants_ to, but…

“Hey, Katara,” Yue’s voice sounds from behind her, making Katara jump, “could I borrow your grey paint?”

Katara pivots and finds herself face-to-face with Yue, smiling sweetly. If Yue weren’t so nice to everyone, Katara might think it was one of the passive-aggressive smiles that looks nice on the surface but actually means, _“I’m plotting your death as we speak, but I’m not going to make a scene.”_

Katara scratches the back of her neck. “You didn’t, um, hear our conversation… did you?”

Yue’s smile turns apologetic. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. But to answer your question, no, Sokka and I are not dating.”

“Good,” Katara says before she can stop herself. Zuko hides his laugh with a fake cough as Katara slaps a hand over her mouth. “I just mean-- because I feel like that’s something he should inform his sister and his best friend about, you know?”

Yue laughs lightly. “Of course.” She peers over Katara’s shoulder at her painting. “Oh! That’s so pretty!”

“Oh. Um. Thanks,” Katara stammers. Then, she remembers why Yue came over here in the first place - paint. Katara picks up the tube of grey paint and all but throws it at Yue. “Here you go! I shouldn’t need any more, so don’t worry about bringing it back.”

Yue blinks, looking down at the paint in her hands. “Right. Thank you.” As she walks back to her own painting, she shoots a strange look back towards Katara and Zuko. Something confused and maybe a little sad?

Katara doesn’t let herself dwell on it for too long.

“I don’t think Yue likes me,” Zuko mumbles.

“I don’t blame her,” Katara responds, turning her focus back to her painting. “I don’t like you either.”

“Wow, thanks.” Zuko sighs melodramatically. 

Katara rolls her eyes. “Look, we can’t all win Yue’s heart, and Sokka beat us to it,” she snaps. “That’s just the way life works sometimes.”

Silence hangs in the air between them for several moments before Katara’s words register in her own mind. Her eyes widen. “I just mean--”

“I don’t have a crush on _Yue_ ,” Zuko interrupts her, making a face that Katara takes personal offense to. “I mean-- she’s pretty, but I’m _gay_ , Katara. I want her to like me because she’s close with Sokka, not because I have a crush on her.” He narrows his eyes. “But-- Wait.” A look of realization passes across his face. “ _You_ have a crush on--?”

“Shut up!” Katara hisses, lunging towards Zuko and covering his mouth with her hands. “Stop, stop, _stop_! Don’t say it!”

Slowly, like he’s afraid of being burned, he pulls Katara’s hands away from his face. “I won’t say anything,” he promises. Maybe just because he’s scared of the consequences if he does, but that’s enough for Katara. 

So, with that issue taken care of, Katara can turn back to more important things. “If you _aren’t_ pining over someone you think doesn’t like you,” she says, “what’s with the whole melodramatic brooding and heartbroken vibe you’ve got going on?” She gestures vaguely at him.

Zuko’s face flushes. “I don’t have that vibe!”

“You most definitely do.” Katara crosses her arms. “You’re all moody over Yue not liking you, but apparently you don’t _like_ her, so I’m not sure, exactly, why you’re so worked up over it. I mean, yeah, she’s practically Sokka’s girlfriend, but you were friends with him first, so it’s not like-- _Wait_.” Katara stops her rambling, because she’s figured it out. Like, for real this time. “ _Sokka_?” she hisses. “You’re pining for my _brother_?”

Zuko doesn’t answer, but he does bury his head in his hands, which is basically a yes.

Katara sits back in her chair. “Spirits,” she mutters. “We’re screwed.”

“Yeah,” Zuko agrees, voice muffled by his hands. “You can say that again.”

\--

Now that Katara has something to hold against Zuko (seriously? He couldn’t pick anyone better than _Sokka_?), she actually finds that she doesn’t mind hanging out with him. They talk to each other in painting, and they wave in the hallways. When Zuko comes over to study with Sokka, Katara actually holds a civil conversation with him, which seems to catch Sokka off guard, but Katara just scoffs and says maybe he should pay more attention to his sister and friend and less attention to his girlfriend.

(“Yue’s not my girlfriend!” he argues. To which Katara says, “ _Yet_ ,” and then walks away before she has to think any more about Yue dating Sokka.)

And, okay, maybe it helps that someone knows about Katara’s hopeless crush on Yue and that someone also happens to be in a similar boat. 

Really, Katara and Zuko have a lot in common when it comes to romance and their lack of luck in love. Zuko’s first girlfriend came out as a lesbian after they broke up. His second significant other was Jet. And now he’s pining over someone who doesn’t like him back. So, at the very least, the two of them can relate to each other.

(Although, Zuko can’t relate to the fact that apparently Katara’s exes are now dating _each other_ , but… she doesn’t really expect a lot of people can relate to that one.)

On principal, of course, Katara still doesn’t like Zuko just as much as she isn’t jealous of Sokka. But they have a mutual understanding, which Katara _supposes_ constitutes as a foundation for friendship.

\--

As a general rule, Sokka doesn’t come to Katara’s swim meets. He says they start too early in the morning, and he can’t _see_ Katara anyways because she’s underwater the whole time. Their dad and Bato tried to make Sokka go to Katara’s first ever swim meet and Sokka ended up falling asleep. So Sokka doesn’t go to Katara’s swim meets, and Katara is perfectly happy with that.

But he must be trying to show off how good of an older brother he is for Yue, because he woke up even earlier than Katara this morning and he’s already stuffing toast into his mouth when Katara makes her way into the kitchen.

“Look who’s finally awake,” he says through a mouthful of food.

“You’re disgusting,” Katara responds. She opens the fridge and looks around, searching for something to eat. She ends up just grabbing an apple. “Why are you up so early?”

“Yue and I are going to your swim meet,” he says, like that’s something Katara should know already. 

Katara hums. “Didn’t know Yue was a fan of early morning dates to school sports events.”

Sokka rolls his eyes. “First of all, it’s not a date. Second of all, she _doesn’t_ care about sports.” He takes another bite of his food. “She said we should go watch you.”

Katara digs her fingernails into the skin of her apple, forcing herself to pretend that isn’t exactly what she wanted to hear. Like that isn’t false hope digging itself into her heart like a knife, because she _knows_ Yue isn’t going for _her_ \- she’s going to spend time with Sokka, under the guise of being supportive of his sister. They’re both just trying to show off for each other, and Katara is now stuck in the crossfire of that, which is pretty much the last place on earth she wants to be.

(Seriously. She’d rather be having tea with Azula than be a catalyst for Sokka and Yue showing each other how much they care.)

“Great.” Katara plops down at the table. She has a comment about having to third wheel at her own swim meet ready to go, but she’s interrupted by Bato saying something about how nice it is that Sokka’s voluntarily going to a swim meet and Sokka giving Yue all the credit for it, like that wasn’t obvious already. Sokka doesn’t get out of bed before noon on the weekends unless he has someone to impress. Which Katara knows because the last time he woke up early by choice on a Saturday was to go to one of Suki’s wrestling meets.

And Sokka, of course, oblivious as he is, doesn’t seem to realize Katara’s sour mood is tied directly to the fact that she’s going to have to deal with Yue and Sokka together at the one place she thought she could be free from her desperate yearning.

The good thing, Katara supposes, is the fact that she doesn’t have to spend a lot of time with Sokka and Yue. As soon as they get to the school, Katara dashes away to meet up with the rest of the swim team. She doesn’t see Sokka and Yue again until the meet has actually started and she finds them in the (albeit small) crowd. She finds that Zuko is sitting with them too, which Katara thinks is strange. Maybe Sokka’s using this as an opportunity for Zuko and Yue to get to know each better?

If so, Katara feels a little bad for Zuko. At least Katara is swimming or watching her teammates for most of the meet. Zuko is having to put up with _actual_ third wheeling.

Every time Katara finds Yue (and her brother and dads) watching, Zuko is with them. Which means he isn’t here with anyone else. Which _means_ he’s probably suffering from a worse case of Gay Pining than Katara is right now. She decides that after the meet ends, she’ll swoop in and save him from having to put up with anymore Sokka & Yue. Katara may not understand what he sees in her brother, but she can respect how he must be feeling spending hours watching his crush blatantly flirt with someone else right in front of him.

\--

Zuko isn’t at school on Monday.

He’d texted her saying that he was sick and asking if she could send him the painting notes, since today is a lecture day, and Katara really hadn’t thought it would be anything more than that.

But see, the _problem_ is none of the teachers really _assigned_ seats. Everyone just picks a seat on the first day of school and sticks with it. Zuko and Katara had ended up next to each other because there were no other seats left (and because neither of them had any friends in the class), and that had been that.

And today, Zuko is gone. So the seat next to Katara is empty.

Which allows for Yue to occupy it instead.

(Cue the Sapphic Breakdown™.)

“It’s alright if I sit here, right?” she asks. “Sokka mentioned you said Zuko’s not here today, so I figured I’d keep you company instead?” She phrases it like a question, like Katara wouldn’t kick Zuko to the curb if it meant she could sit next to Yue every day, like there’s even a _choice_.

“Yeah! That’s fine!” Katara manages, internally wincing at the fact that her voice comes out so much higher than usual.

“Thanks,” Yue smiles. She starts taking her laptop and notebook out of her bag, and Katara just stares like a _creep_ until the bell jolts her from her thoughts and she realizes she hasn’t taken any of her things out of her own backpack.

Katara barely hears a single word her teacher says. She _tries_ to take notes for Zuko - really, she does! - but the fact that Yue is sitting so close to her is _very_ distracting.

And then (and then!) Yue has the _audacity_ to make a joke about the lecture under her breath so no one but Katara can hear.

(If Katara weren’t so far gone already, that would’ve been the tipping point.)

The way Yue leans over into Katara’s personal space and whispers like she’s entrusting Katara with her deepest secret. the way her knee bumps against Katara’s and then _doesn’t leave_. The small, proud, smile that lights up Yue’s face when Katara snickers.

Katara likes to think that generally, she isn’t a disaster. But Yue is reducing her to some sort of lovestruck idiot. And for some spirits-forsaken reason, Katara can’t even find it in herself to be upset about it.

After that, trying to take notes is pretty much useless. Katara and Yue fall into a rhythm, trading jokes back and forth and offering commentary on whatever their teacher is talking about. Yue swipes Katara’s notebook and starts doodling on the paper, and somehow Yue’s five minute sketch of a penguin is more beautiful than any of the paintings on the teacher’s slideshow. Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet-- none of them are even comparable to Yue and her mechanical pencil.

So no, Katara does not take notes for Zuko because she doesn’t end up even taking notes for herself. And if, when she texts him to break the news, she also gloats about how she and Yue seemed to just _click_ , well, that’s no one’s business but her own.

\--

Something shifts between her and Yue after that. Katara can’t quite explain it, but the difference is there. Sure, Yue is still falling all over Sokka, but it’s become much more tolerable for Katara. Her crush has settled enough that it’s gone from a roaring thunderstorm to a dull thrumming of rain, and it’s manageable. She can let her eyes linger on Yue just a little too long, she can move her chair just a little too close, she can laugh at her jokes just a little too loud, and she can be content with that.

Katara thinks maybe ( _hopefully_ ), her infatuation is fizzling out in favor of a good, solid, friendship. And she is more than okay with that. That would be preferable, really, so when Yue and Sokka finally end up making their relationship official, Katara can proudly say she’s friends with her brother’s girlfriend instead of having to suppress her not-so-platonic feelings.

Yue doesn’t take Zuko’s seat in painting permanently, but she _does_ meet Katara’s eyes whenever one of the other students says something particularly stupid. And sometimes, after class ends on lecture days, Yue will walk past Katara’s table on her way out and drop a sketch she did during class on top of Katara’s notebook. They’re always pages ripped out from Yue’s own notebook, folded in half, with Katara’s name written in fancy cursive lettering on it.

She knows Zuko watches her face flush every time, but he never says a word.

\--

Time stretches onwards and Katara finds herself getting closer with both Zuko and Yue. Zuko doesn’t talk much, really - at least, not to Katara - but they’ll visit each other at work and send each other posts on Instagram. Which, still, Katara doesn’t _really_ want to claim friendship with her brother’s best friend, but… she would say she and Zuko are more than just acquaintances at this point.

Yue, on the other hand, talks to Katara quite a bit. They walk to painting together from lunch, and on Wednesdays, when Katara doesn’t have swim practice right after school, Yue drives Katara home so she doesn’t have to wait for Sokka to be done with his nerd club or whatever. Yue texts Katara pictures of pretty flowers she sees and random thoughts she has that she thinks Katara might be interested in. Katara texts Yue stories about her worst customers at work and stupid things Sokka and her dads say.

They fall into a rhythm, like the rise and fall of the tides. Katara’s feelings for Yue are less like a tsunami and more like a tide pool. The days blend into weeks, the moon wanes and waxes, and Katara gets comfortable.

Katara gets _too_ comfortable.

\--

“We should have a sleepover.”

Katara almost chokes on her tea. “Hm?”

“We should have a sleepover,” Yue repeats.

They’re sitting in the Jasmine Dragon - specifically at a time when Zuko is _not_ working so Katara doesn’t have to deal with him watching her and texting her afterwards asking if that was a date and if Yue is cheating on Sokka with his sister.

(It’s _not_ a date, and Yue and Sokka have still not made anything official as far as Katara is aware, so even if it were, it wouldn’t be cheating.)

(Technically.)

 _Oh, right. Sokka_.

Katara frowns. “Is this just your way of being able to spend the night with Sokka?” she raises an eyebrow.

For some reason, Yue looks confused. “Huh? No.” She shakes her head. “Actually, I meant you should spend the night at my house.”

Katara blinks, her skepticism dissolving immediately. “Oh. Uh, well in that case, that sounds like fun!” She takes a sip of her drink and pushes any thoughts of the inherent homoeroticism of sleepovers as far out of her mind as she can. She’s just indulged in too much sapphic media, that’s all. It’s fiction. There is absolutely nothing inherently queer about a sleepover between two girls, at least one of which just so happens to be bi.

(Katara won’t assume Yue’s romantic orientation. She knows Yue has an asexual pride pin on her backpack, but no other pride flags paired with it, so Katara will not label her as anything other than ace at the present moment.)

“Cool.” Yue smiles one of the smiles that always has Katara’s stomach filling with butterflies she has to immediately squash. “I was thinking next Friday night maybe? If you’re free? I know this coming Saturday is the only one without a swim meet for a while, though, so if you have other plans or just want to relax, that’s fine.”

It does _not_ make Katara feel giddy that Yue knows her swim meet schedule, not at all. Nope. “I’m good with Friday. Sokka sleeps in until at least noon anyways, so we don’t have plans. If anything, my dads will go on a brunch date and leave Sokka and I behind.”

Yue giggles. “Okay. Friday it is, then.” She taps her nails against her cup. “Do you have swim practice after school that day?”

Katara sighs. “Yeah, sorry. I can make Sokka or my dads drive me to your house once I’m done.”

“Or I could just wait for you?” Yue offers. Katara’s brain short circuits. Surely she must have heard wrong? “I mean-- I guess I don’t know if I’m allowed to watch practice or not, but I can just wait for you in the hall and do homework,” she adds quickly.

So… so Katara _had_ heard correctly. Yue is offering to hang out at the school, possibly sitting on the floor for an hour and a half, just so she can drive Katara to her house. After Katara said that she could get a ride from someone else.

She must _really_ want to get on Katara’s good side before she asks Sokka out. _Or_ they’re already dating and she’s trying to preemptively apologize for not telling Katara straight away.

“Are you sure you’re okay to wait?” She asks carefully, giving Yue an opportunity to back out. “Sokka owes me a favor anyways after I helped him with his English assignment.”

“I _want_ to wait for you,” Yue insists, subsequently throwing away the option of seeing Sokka when he drops Katara off. Weird. Then again, Yue and Sokka see each other a lot, so it’s not like she’s _missing out_ , per se. She’s probably trying to be helpful to Sokka, actually - saving him from having to chauffeur for his little sister.

“Okay. If you’re sure.” She takes a sip of her tea. “There’s a rule forbidding guys from watching swim practice, because some of the girls’ boyfriends were being distracting, but I can ask Kyoshi if it’s okay for you to watch. Or, at least just sit by the pool while you do your work.”

Yue raises an eyebrow. “Being distracting?”

Katara rolls her eyes. “Think catcalling, but, like, consensual.”

Yue scrunches her nose. “Straight people are weird.”

“You can say that again,” Katara responds easily, like her brain isn’t now spinning at a hundred kilometers an hour because that comment _probably_ means Yue likes girls. And that isn’t, exactly, helping to numb Katara’s crush. Much to Katara’s chagrin, it’s making it spike up again. But she can examine that _later_ , at a time when Yue isn’t knocking her leg against Katara’s and grinning at her like she’s perfectly content sitting in this coffee shop for eternity as long as it’s Katara across from her.

( _I_ _t’s to get on Sokka’s good side_ , Katara reminds herself. _It’s to win your approval._ )

But that reality is drifting out of Katara’s grasp and she allows herself to sink back into her yearning, just for the afternoon.

\--

Friday swim practice comes. Yue is allowed to sit on the bench and do her homework, maybe because she isn’t dating anyone on the swim team or maybe because she has a spotless record when it comes to misdemeanors at school or maybe because Kyoshi knows her dad. Whatever the case, Katara isn’t going to question a nice thing, so she’ll simply let it happen.

Katara, as usual, is the first one to change and head out to the pool. Because she doesn’t hang around and talk to the other girls - she just changes and goes on her way. Which, coincidentally, gives her the opportunity to perch on the bench next to Yue while she waits for the other girls to finish changing.

Yue only glances over at Katara briefly before fixing her eyes back on her computer screen. She doesn’t go back to typing, though; just rests her fingers on the keyboard and stares intently at the screen like she’s going to get burned if she looks away.

“What are you working on?” Katara asks, trying to make light conversation.

“Oh, you know,” Yue waves her hand vaguely. “English.”

Katara furrows her brow. “Are you okay?”

“Yep!” Yue replies much too fast, her pitch higher than usual. She only spares a half-second glance over at Katara before she looks back at her computer. “I’m good. Just… distracted by this assignment. Sorry.”

“Oh.” That makes sense. “I won’t bother you, then--”

“No, no, you’re fine!” Yue interrupts. She slams her laptop shut and finally actually looks over at Katara. Except, her eyes are focusing on whatever’s behind Katara rather than on Katara herself. “So. Um. Swim practice. How, uh, how does it work? I know I watched your swim meet that one time, but I’m still a little confused on some of the technicalities and whatnot.”

 _Because you were only paying attention to Sokka during the meet_ , Katara thinks, but she doesn’t say it. It would come out too snippy and mean and she doesn’t _want_ to be mean to Yue. She swallows that comment down and answers Yue’s questions about being on the swim team, and she’s surprised to find that Yue must have been paying more attention during the meet than she’d given her credit for.

(She almost tells Yue that knowing how Katara’s sport works isn’t going to woo Sokka, but something stops her.)

Once practice actually starts, Yue goes back to her homework. And whenever Katara’s eyes wander over to Yue, she’s fixating on the screen in front of her like nothing else has ever existed.

\--

As a general rule, Katara is not a fan of Taylor Swift.

But even she has to admit that _Love Story_ coming on the radio while Yue is driving them to her house is definitely making her feel things. 

There’s just something about looking over at Yue in the driver’s seat as the winter sun dips closer to the horizon while a love song you just know without trying plays in the background. There’s just something about the _Romeo & Juliet _ allusion when Katara is suffering a major bout of Main Character Disease as she laments the fact that the girl she likes is in love with her older brother. There’s something about Yue mouthing the words with the ghost of a smile on her face, and then tossing a grin over at Katara when they pull up to a stop light.

There’s _something_ about Katara feeling like she’s in a coming of age movie, but there’s also the twisting in her gut reminding her that real life doesn’t always have a happy ending.

So while, as a general rule, Katara doesn’t like Taylor Swift, she also isn’t going to complain about any part of the present moment, because it’s as perfect as Katara could hope for. For the moment, she can imagine Yue isn’t thinking about Sokka, she can imagine she even has half a chance, she can imagine things are all going to work out.

\--

Yue’s door is painted.

Because, of course it is. It’s painted like a night sky with twinkling stars sprinkled across it and the silvery, glowing, moon near the top. And okay, maybe Katara is biased, but it’s one of the most beautiful paintings Katara has ever seen in her life.

Yue must notice her staring because she giggles and says, “It took me four months to convince my dad to let me paint it.”

“It’s beautiful.” Katara’s voice comes out as a whisper. She wants to reach out and touch it, but that would be weird. She shoves her hands in her jacket pockets instead so they don’t betray her. 

Yue looks away. “Thank you.” 

She pushes the door open, leading Katara into the room. It’s… pretty much what Katara expected. Sort of messy, but an organized mess. Various art supplies are scattered across her desk, dresser, and nightstand. There’s a book laying open, facedown, on Yue’s bed. The full length mirror propped up against the wall to Katara’s left has a Starry Night-inspired design painted along the bottom. There are paintings and sketches hung up on the walls, both ones that are likely Yue’s own work as well as some that look like they’re the work of other people.

It looks like the bedroom of an artist.

Yue picks the book up off her bed and sets it on her nightstand after bookmarking her spot. “So what do you want to do first?”

“Oh, I don’t really care.” Katara hopes Yue can’t hear the strain in her voice. “I’m fine with whatever.” They stopped for dinner on the way home, so they have the rest of the evening to do whatever they’d like. “We could play a game or something?”

Yue’s face lights up. “Sure!” She crosses her room and opens one of her dresser drawers. “I don’t have a lot of games, but I have cards if we want to play a card game?”

“That sounds great!”

Katara isn’t surprised when the cards Yue sets down in between them have the Mona Lisa on the back of them. It seems like a fitting deck of cards for Yue to have.

“So how’s Zuko?” Yue questions as she shuffles the cards.

Katara thinks that’s an odd thing to ask. “Oh, you know. He’s Zuko.”

Yue laughs, and Katara’s heart swells at the sound.

“I went and visited him at the Jasmine Dragon yesterday and we ended up spending his entire break venting about our math teachers, so,” Katara shrugs, “he’s probably doing about as well as the rest of us.” Katara _almost_ asks, _“How’s Sokka?”_ but that would be _stupid_ considering the fact that Sokka is her brother so she should probably know how Sokka’s been.

“That’s nice,” Yue responds, her voice sounding a little distant. She finishes shuffling the cards and begins dealing. “Do you visit him a lot at work?”

“I mean… I like doing homework at the Jasmine Dragon, so I guess?” Katara frowns. “Mostly, I just find it easier to concentrate there than I do at home. Zuko just happens to be there most of the time because his uncle owns it.”

Yue hums in acknowledgment.

The conversation sort of dies after that as they turn their attention to the game instead. Katara’s glad for it, though, because she didn’t come over to Yue’s house to talk about _Zuko_.

(Although, if Katara’s being honest, she’d much rather talk about Zuko than listen to Yue talk about Sokka. But she’d much rather talk about _anything_ than listen to Yue talk about Sokka, so that isn’t saying very much.)

As the night goes on, they get less serious about the game they’re playing, and at once point, Yue mistakenly picks up two cards from the top of the deck instead of one.

“Sorry!” she apologizes, sticking the extra card at the bottom of the deck. “My hands are really cold.” She sets her cards facedown on the floor and holds her hands out towards Katara. “Feel them. I swear I can never get them warm.”

Katara sets her cards down and places her hands in Yue’s before her brain can catch up and say, _“Hey, maybe don’t do this because you’re a useless bisexual.”_ That realization comes as soon as Katara’s hands touch Yue’s, and by then, it’s too late.

Yue’s hands _are_ cold - she wasn’t lying about that. But Katara is more focused on how soft they are and how touching them seems to send currents of electricity rippling through her veins. She’s more focused on the fact that this feels like flirting-without-flirting - finding an excuse to hold hands - and Katara _knows_ that can’t be what this is, but _wow_ Yue is not making it easy to remember that.

Even so, they definitely hold onto each other’s hands for longer than they need to - fingers laced together, the only sounds the thrum of the air conditioning and Katara’s pounding heart.

Katara’s blue eyes stare into Yue’s brown ones, like she’s searching for something that lets her know this moment is real and tangible and not a dream about to slip away. (Like she’s looking for anything that says Yue isn’t actually in love with Sokka, impossible as that may be.)

When Katara finally regains her senses, she slips her hands out of Yue’s and clears her throat. “They’re like ice,” she says. “Maybe you need to start wearing gloves everywhere you go.”

Yue’s only response is a delayed, “Maybe.” She shakes her head slightly, like she’s shaking away a bad thought. “Why don’t we watch a movie or something?” she suggests.

“Sure!” Katara agrees, because a movie is probably the best way for her to stop being so obvious about her crush that has clearly not actually gone anywhere. That is becoming more and more evident as the night wears on.

\--

Katara was wrong.

A movie is _not_ the best way to stop being so obvious, but at the same time, she wouldn’t trade where she is right now for anything in the world.

After they made popcorn, they settled on Yue’s bed with their backs against the headboard and Yue’s laptop balanced precariously between them. They scrolled through Netflix until they landed on some cheesy rom com that won’t take much brainpower to watch, which is good, because Katara’s brain has only been working at half-power ever since swim practice ended.

By the time the movie is halfway over, the popcorn is gone and the empty bag has been discarded on the floor. And Yue is leaning her head on Katara’s shoulder, her entire body pressed up against Katara’s. For once, though, Katara’s brain isn’t screaming at the contact; it’s allowing her to simply _exist_ in such close proximity to Yue. It’s something she never thought she’d be able to have, whether as friends or something else. It’s like watching the snowfall on a Sunday morning when you don’t have anywhere to be so you can appreciate the beauty instead of worrying about the roads. It’s like sitting in a café next to a window and doing your homework as rain pours down outside. It’s the calm in a storm - the eye of a hurricane. It’s almost midnight and Katara feels at peace.

“Hey Katara?” Yue whispers, her voice breaking the illusion of silence that had settled around them. The movie plays on in the background, but Katara can’t hear what any of the characters are saying.

“Yes?”

“Could I braid your hair?”

“Hm?” Is Katara’s eloquent response, because she thinks she must’ve fallen half-asleep and she’s probably making up what Yue is saying, twisting her actual words into something she wants to hear.

“Could I braid your hair?” Yue repeats, shifting so she’s sitting up straight. “I noticed it was falling out of the braid, and your hair looks really soft.”

“Okay,” Katara says before she can think better of it (and before she can consider the implications of Yue commenting on how soft her hair looks).

They don’t pause the movie; just push the laptop towards the foot of the bed and let it play on. Katara turns her back to Yue, and it feels like a trust fall without the falling as Yue carefully takes the hair tie out of the end of Katara’s braid and unweaves the strands. Or maybe the falling is just different - more metaphorical and less literal.

Katara can’t see Yue as she works, for obvious reasons, but she can tell Yue is braiding slowly and carefully. She doesn’t talk for fear of breaking the moment, for the same reason you don’t breathe on a snowflake: it’s too fragile to be something you can hold onto for very long, and you don’t want to let it go before you have to.

“Done,” Yue whispers, far too soon.

Katara turns to face Yue and brings the braid over her shoulder, running her fingers over it. Katara has had her hair braided most days since it was long enough to braid, but this time feels different - the act was far more intimate.

“Do you want me to braid yours?” Katara hears herself say, softly, trying not to shatter whatever is hanging in the air between them. Yue’s long, brown, hair is down right now, though Katara has often seen her wear it braided.

“Okay,” Yue breathes.

Katara separates Yue’s hair into two sections. She moves one over Yue’s shoulder so it’s out of the way and sets to work separating the other into three smaller sections, careful not to pull too hard. She works in the same manner that she felt Yue work: meticulous and gentle, going slow so she can savor the feeling of weaving strands of Yue’s hair together, so she can relish in the closeness. So she can breathe in the scent of Yue’s shampoo and she doesn’t have to face a reality where tonight is the last night she gets to have this. (Where tonight is the night Yue comes to Katara with a question of permission, like Katara gets to decide who Sokka does and doesn’t date, and once Katara approves out of sisterly love, Yue will have no more need for Katara’s friendship.)

Katara spends an eternity braiding Yue’s hair, but she’s also done in no time at all. Twin braids fall against Yue’s shoulders, tied with white hair ties, and Yue faces Katara.

They breathe in sync.

(Or, Katara likes to think they do.)

Yue shifts, moving closer, and it feels like a dream. Yue looks sad and happy at the same time - looks the same way Katara feels. Like this is the beginning and an end all wrapped up into one, like tonight is the only time they will have this.

Katara’s stomach aches, crying for her to move closer or maybe move away, begging her to do anything at all besides let her eyes drop to Yue’s lips. Tonight is stolen away from reality, they are seated in their own pocket dimension on Yue’s bed where there are no consequences and Katara could lean in, just a bit, and close the distance.

(But _Sokka_ , she reminds herself.)

She can’t do that to Sokka. She can’t do that to her brother. Even if Yue is looking at Katara like she’s asking Katara to take the leap, to fall into her, she _can’t_.

She has to break this. She has to shatter it. She has to take the poison and fake her death and put an end to the love story she’s created in her mind, the one she must have unwittingly bewitched Yue into as well. Because Yue is not Katara’s. She never has been and she never will be.

Katara looks away.

“Is this the part where you tell me how you’re going to ask Sokka out, or you ask me for permission you don’t need, or you tell me you’ve _been_ dating and you’re sorry you didn’t tell me sooner?”

(And everything shatters.)

“ _What_?!” Yue pulls back, aghast. And then, for some reason, she starts laughing.

“What?” Katara demands.

“Katara--” she giggles. “I don’t _like_ Sokka. I mean, I _did_ , but I realized pretty quickly that he has eyes for someone else.”

Katara blinks as Yue stifles her laughter. “You… But I thought-- What do you _mean_ you don’t like Sokka?!”

“I _mean_ ,” Yue says, “I don’t have a crush on Sokka. He’s just a friend.” She looks down at her hands, twisting her fingers together. “I have feelings for someone else, but… they’re not reciprocated. I think the person I like has a crush on someone else.”

Katara’s heart - soaring for a single moment - crashes and burns yet again. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Yue sighs. “That’s what Sokka and I ended up bonding over after I got over my infatuation with him. We both like people who like other people.”

Despite the disappointment weaseling its way through Katara’s chest, she smiles. “That’s what Zuko and I first bonded over too.” Because really, it is a little funny that Katara and Yue both formed friendships with someone by bonding over hopeless pining.

“Wait.” Yue’s eyes widen. “What?”

Katara laughs. “Yeah, we sort of accidentally spilled our crushes to each other--”

“So you and Zuko aren’t, like, a thing?”

Every blood cell in Katara’s body freezes. “What.”

“You _don’t_ have a crush on Zuko?”

Katara knows her eyes must be the size of dinner plates at this point, but she thinks that is perfectly valid of her. “Um. No. First of all, Zuko is gay, so if I _did_ , that would be unfortunate. Second, I barely even like Zuko as a friend.”

“You hang out with him _all the time_ ,” Yue argues.

“It’s about the principle,” Katara explains. “He’s Sokka’s best friend, so by rule, I have to find him annoying. That’s what being a little sister is all about.”

“I’m Sokka’s friend too,” Yue points out.

Katara goes quiet. “Well… you’re different.” And Katara supposes, maybe, she _should_ call Zuko her friend as well as Sokka’s and finally admit that he isn’t really that bad of a person.

(Maybe she should admit to herself that she was jealous of Sokka too.)

“So if you don’t have feelings for Zuko,” Yue says carefully, “who _do_ you have feelings for?”

 _You!_ Katara’s heart screams. _I like YOU!_ But her brain betrays the desperate cries and she just shrugs.

“Katara…” Yue reaches out, cupping Katara’s cheek. Katara’s hand makes its way up to Yue’s wrist, wrapping around it but not pulling it away.

(Because, maybe, Katara does have half a chance with Yue.)

(Maybe she has more than that.)

“It’s you,” Katara whispers, willing her tongue to start working again. “I have feelings for you. And I have for a while now.”

Yue laughs. She leans in slowly, clearly giving Katara time to pull away if she wants. But Katara _doesn’t_ want to pull away. She’s frozen in place, though, and can’t bring herself to move, so it’s Yue who closes the distance, finally, and presses her lips softly against Katara’s.

Yue’s lips, unsurprisingly, are cold like her hands were. Katara’s eyes slip shut at the contact and her free hand reaches out for Yue, landing on her shoulder.

When they break apart, they’re both breathlessly laughing despite the chasteness of the kiss.

“I have to ask,” Katara says as her giggles finally subside, “who _is_ my brother pining after, if it isn’t you?”

“Zuko.”

“No way.” Laughter bubbles up inside of Katara again. “I’ll give you one guess who Zuko likes.”

Yue taps her chin like she’s thinking, but the smile on her face tells Katara she knows full well what the answer is. “Hmmm… Is it your brother?”

Katara’s too busy laughing to answer Yue properly, but she doesn’t really need to.

(And the next day, when Yue and Katara end up back at Katara’s house, hands entwined, they send Sokka straight to find Zuko so the two of them can stop believing their feelings are unrequited as well.)

**Author's Note:**

> you can also find me on [tumblr](https://zukkaclawthorne.tumblr.com/)


End file.
